http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/local/doc4989d0db9793a862528290.txtProsecutors to file charges in wife's shooting
By LORI PILGER / Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2009 - 06:38:42 pm CST
Joshua Beasley pointed a shotgun at his new wife, Alaina, prosecutors say.
She pointed back, holding her hand in the shape of a gun, said Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey.
And when he pulled the trigger, thinking it was empty, the gun fired and hit Alaina.
She died early Sunday.
“He didn’t intend to kill her,” Lacey said Wednesday, after giving details of the game that led to the 20-year-old bride’s death.
Regardless, Lacey said, Josh Beasley was committing an unlawful act, an assault, by pointing the gun at her. For that, Lacey’s office will charge him with manslaughter.
Josh Beasley is set to go to court at 2 p.m. on Friday, just 24 hours after his wife’s funeral in Omaha.
Saturday night, Lincoln police found 20-year-old Alaina Beasley on the floor of the kitchen in the couple’s apartment at 6230 N.W. Second St. She had been shot in the chest.
Police say Joshua Beasley called 911 at 9:15 p.m. Saturday, and allegedly said he was handling a shotgun when it accidentally fired.
Alaina died four hours later.
Her husband has not been arrested, and prosecutors do not anticipate he will be. But on Wednesday, police told him to appear in court on Friday.
Manslaughter is a felony. The punishment for it ranges from probation to 20 years in prison.
Unlike murder, the charge of manslaughter does not require the intent to kill. Rather, the charge is used when someone kills another without malice, either during a sudden quarrel or unintentionally while in the commission of an unlawful act.
In this case, according to Nebraska law, pointing a gun at another is a reckless act — and as such, an unlawful act, “sufficient, should the gun discharge, to support a manslaughter conviction.”
Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said his department has concluded that Alaina Beasley’s death was an accident. In itself, he said, that is not inconsistent with a manslaughter charge.
“There have been other cases like this before,” he said.
Casady could think of at least three since he’s been chief in which someone accidentally died at the hands of another person and that person was charged for it.
Although the incident didn’t involve a gun, Casady pointed to the case of Ricky Turco, the young man at the wheel of a car that crashed March 26, 2007, leading to the death of 15-year-old Megan Churchill.
In the Beasley case, Casady said, he understands that people feel sorry for the young husband.
“It’s a terrible tragedy for everybody involved. No doubt about it,” he said.
Lacey doesn’t use the word accident to describe Alaina Beasley’s death. He calls it unintentional, and said similar cases more often involve children playing with their parents’ guns.
When asked how he would respond to those who think Josh Beasley has paid enough already, Lacey noted that he hasn’t been convicted of anything.
“If and when we get there,” he said, “then we’ll talk about punishment.
Alaina and Joshua Beasley were married Nov. 1 and moved from the Omaha area to Lincoln for work, according to their wedding Web site.
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.
